Southeast Division in rebuild mode… for now

The Heat would have been prohibitive favorites to win the Southeast Division last season, likely by 10 or more games.

Now?

Might as well raise the banner at the All-Star break.

Danny Ferry, Atlanta’s new GM — and LeBron James’ old one — saw a team stuck in the middle, and unloaded the enormous contract of Joe Johnson on Brooklyn, while also clearing future flexibility with the trade of first-round flop (for his draft position) Marvin Williams. He got Devin Harris and a bunch of flotsam back, but that’s not the point.

The point is that Ferry is trying to attract a couple of premium free agents in the summer of 2013, perhaps Dwight Howard (who is from Atlanta) and Chris Paul.

It’s risky, since Howard could be moved before that, and then fall in love with his new team — and then out of love, and then in love, and then out of love, since it is Howard after all. And Atlanta, for reasons not completely clear, has never been a place that most young elite African-American athletes have dreamed about living.

No one knows what the Magic will look like when the season starts, but it’s hard to view Orlando as much of a threat to the Heat when Stan Van Gundy’s gone and Howard’s in limbo — or potentially gone.

Washington made some decent moves this offseason to surround John Wall with some better veteran influences, and Charlotte has more prospects in the fold.